pob annual competition results2003

posted 23 December 2003 10:40 AM
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Firstly, a big thank you to all the dancers ! Congratulations to the ones who are promoted and a thought for the others !

You have the compulsory variation danced by everyone at the beginning of the results, and near the name of the dancers the free variation they choose.

-Yesterday, Mathieu was amazing, and he's only 19 years old. His dance is very clean for such a young man and he's a very elegant dancer. He's really a dancer of his own although both his parents are former dancers. He had no rival yesterday and in the near future you'll hear about him a lot, and also about his younger sister Marine, a pupil of the POB school.

-To my mind, Charline's compulsory variation was just so so because she looked tense, but her free variation was very good and she brought a lot of joy and had a big smile on her face. She was vivacious, clean and precise. She wore a light green dress with some ribbons of the same color in her hair. She could have placed higher I think.

I just wondered how did you think about Mlle Cordellier in the competition - she was the one who had caught my eyes in the all-Balanchine-programme back in October...

Last weekend I managed to see 3 programmes at Garnier & Bastille - what a treat that was! Of the 9 works/pieces (by 6 choreographers) my best 3 were: 1) Balanchine (Concerto Barocco & Liebeslieder Walzer); 2) Balanchine (Tchaikovsky PdD); 3) Preljocaj (Un Trait d'Union). POB does Balanchine like a dream, I thought - they enrich and bring out characters from his works with very delicate nuances and unrivaled sophistication..... (sigh)

Aurore Cordellier was very good, but she's still very young and a little shy, thus she looked tense during her Esmeralda's variation, she could have been more expressive and more sensual but the talent is there and no doubt, one will speak of her in the next years. She just need to have a little more time and maturity !

Glad you liked what you saw ! I think if you wish to speak about the POb and Balanchine, we may open a new thread :grinning: ?

Actually that must have been quite a frustrating year for most of the corps de ballet, as there were so few available new positions (far fewer than last year, for example)...

I must say I am a bit surprised as Isabelle Ciaravola's promotion, as she's already 31, and if I remember correctly that's probably the first time in more than a decade that a dancer
over 30 is promoted to première danseuse (the retirement age is now 42 instead of 40, but it's likely that many dancers won't perform much between 40 and 42), on the other hand Ciaravola was cast in quite a lot of roles in the last two or three seasons so clearly the direction seems to like her. Personally I haven't seen her that much, and when I saw her I wasn't very impressed; I really regret that Fanny Fiat wasn't competing this year (she's been absent from stage too for a few weeks) as for me she's the most talented of the female sujets.

cygneblanc, who impressed you the most in each category ? (but I know it's a hard question, with so many variations to watch! ) Mathilde Froustey is a charming dancer but still very very young (I think it's her first competition) and in my opinion perhaps a bit too childish in her dancing... And I hope that someday Charline Gienzendanner will get promoted, unfortunately she hasn't been given much to do since she joined the company after dancing Swanilda in the school's program. What did Laura Hecquet dance? I really had liked her a lot last spring in the "Young dancers"program.

The promotions of Dorothée Gilbert and Mathieu Ganio aren't exactly surprising, as she had made her debut in the second soloist role in "Concerto Barocco" a few days before (quite brilliantly, I think) and he will be cast in a few days in the main role of "Ivan the Terrible". I find both of them very promising (also Ganio really is a handsome young man with a great line ) but now I hope they won't get too much "pressure" too soon.

It's interesting to see the diversity of the free variations they chose- and even a bit odd to see some works from Paul Taylor and Martha Graham (but Céline Talon always has been good in the modern repertory). Also one can notice that though Lifar's works have been absent from the POB stage for at least 6 years, some of them still are chosen regularly for the competition (especially "Les mirages")- I wonder with whom the dancers work those variations?

Well, Estelle, here are the dancers who impressed me the most in each category :

First, the ladies :
- I liked Sarah Kora Dayanova the most. Her free variation was Aurore's variation (Act I) from the Sleeping Beauty. I don't understand why she hasn't been ranked. She was clearly the best in that level, to my mind. Her two variations were very good, with some excellent technical backgrounds and a good presence !

I also noticed Miho Fuji's La Bayadere ( Act II, Nikya's variation), very moving, the smile of Emilie Hasboun in her compulsory variation, she had some mistakes in her free one ( Grand Pas Classique), Laurene Levy, of course, very nice performances in both variations; Charline Giezendanner's free variation was just a pure joy. Otherwise, I also like Charlotte Ranson, (Paquita, variation of the Grand Pas, Act II), and I thought Mathilde Froustey wasn't that bad although she's very young and a bit childish !

Laura Hequet danced Raymonda's variation, act II. She was good, and a lot of people were saying she would be ranked first

Coryphées :
Of course, Dorothée Gilbert !!!! Clearly the leader of that level, two excellent performances, also a pure joy !
Also Aurore Cordellier, although the she looked a little tense and shy during her free variation, Severine Westermann's les mirages ( ), and Eve Grinsztajn' Nikiya.

Premiere danseuse :
Well, acording to me, nobody shouldn't have been promoted this year.
I noticed Celine Talon, because of her Graham's variation, but didn't understand the meaning very well, since I don't know the story of the piece of which it is extracted

For the men:
I was beginning to be tired, but :

-quadrilles
I liked the best Samuel Murez (The phantom of the Opera) , Martin Chaix (Push to come, Twyla Tharp) and Aurelien Houette (Paul Taylor 's Speak in Tongues, solo of the preacher).
The last two were some pleasant suprises, and I have to say I don't usually like what isn't ballet but just for that time...,

-Coyphées
Matthieu Ganio, the best of the field, and for sure THE tomorrow star !
Amazing !
Also Yong Geol Kim, a very interesting interpretation of Maurice Bejard's Arepo, ( Eric Vu An 's variation)

The dancers work on their variation with their coach, if they have a one, alone, or with a colleague !

About Mathilde Froustey: sorry if I wasn't clear, I didn't see the competition and really don't think that she's a bad dancer, it's just that in a year with so few available positions I thought
that perhaps it'd have been better to promote someone a bit more experienced rather than her who is so young and could wait one more year.

About "Lamentation": actually it is just a solo work, and I don't think there is a plot. I remember reading something about it in Graham's autobiography "Blood memory" but don't have that book here... but if I remember correctly, she mentioned that one day after she performed it, a women of the audience told her that she thanked her because she had lost her child years ago and when seeing Graham's solo it was the first time she could manage to cry.

Do you know if there might be some copyright issues for the variations the dancers perform? For example, the performance of Balanchine works have to be approved by the
Balanchine Trust, but can someone perform a Balanchine variation for the competition without their approval (considering that it isn't a "real" performance)?

Estelle, I'm sorry but I don't know if there are some copyright issues for the variations the dancers perform. :rolleyes: But that's a very interesting question and I will try to find the answer B)

Thanks for the infos on Martha Graham

And for Mathilde Froustey, what I said wasn't related to what you said but rather to what people were saying that day : the people I know were thinking (and still think I believe :grinning: ) her performance was so so and she was too childish !

I know that only Sujets are aythorized to dance in competition the Robbins "Other Dances" variations. Against all the other ballets of Robbins seems to be dance by all the categories. As Dorothée Gilbert raised up with Four Seasons Fall and Spring, Simon Valastro raised up with Dances at a gathering.

For Lamentation it's a solo of 3'. We saw all the ballets in Celine Talon performance. On stage, she is in dark mood !

Concerning Mathilde Froustey, she is promising but she is very young in her dance and she was not at all in the asked style for peasants pdd of Giselle, she looks as a Princess and not as a peasant. And I was shocked in her Paquita' free variation by her lack of style too. Too dancer are so young than her and have more style. I remember Aurore Cordellier or Dorothée Gilbert as the same level and the same age and they always have style !!!
For me the best female quadrille was Laura Hecquet, she is really a beautiful dancer, tall with style. She makes Raymonda acte II variation and she was at the same level than the coryphée whp have this variation as imposed one !

Dorothée Gilbert is a future etoile and she dance all as it was so easy to dance, too many people think that she could be directly promoted to première danseuse rank, especially than sujets don't make a beautiful concours. A mention to Nathalie Aubin' Cinderella, absolutely marvellous. unfortunately, Nathalie is too "old" to be promoted, but she was really a great artist !

For the men, I was absolutely shocked by the level of quadrille too many don't arrive to make the end of Sylphide variation which is a "tour en l'air" ended on the knee, it's very worrying ! For me the best quadrille was Sebastien Bertaud who was absolutely wonderful as Frederi in Arlesienne, he is ranked but the last of them.

For the coryphée, Mathieu Ganio as Dorothée Gilbert is a future etoile, as he enter on stage and opens his arms, you are already gone in the world of the great dancer, handsome, high elevation, musicality, very very good dancer.